From the late '70s through the '80s, the Disney
company
had put out several fine films, some of them were even modest
hits. But nothing from Disney had come along and wowed
audiences
in a big way until OLIVER & COMPANY. Based loosely on
Charles
Dickens' immortal Oliver
Twist, OLIVER & COMPANY had more energy
than any Disney film since 101 DALMATIANS, and more heart
than anything since THE
FOX AND THE HOUND.
It's "street savoir
faire",
bouncy soundtrack and cast of
quirky characters caught audiences by surprise, and they
responded by making it the animated sleeper hit of 1988.
The film
out-performed both previous Disney films THE
BLACK CAULDRON and THE GREAT MOUSE DETECTIVE
combined, as well as beating out the other big animated offering of the
year, THE LAND BEFORE TIME.

Set in modern day New York City, OLIVER & COMPANY has
some family resemblance to 101 DALMATIANS, THE ARISTOCATS and THE RESCUERS, completely
different from the more lush, classical style
of THE GREAT MOUSE DETECTIVE. The
use of stars in the cast also hearken back to those films, but
the approach is different. Film and television
personalities
still populate the cast of
OLIVER & COMPANY, but not for the sake of novelty as in THE JUNGLE
BOOK and other Disney films. This time around, the
stars were chosen to fit the characters, rather than the other way
around. Joey Lawrence, Roscoe Lee Brown, Bette Midler, Robert Loggia
and Cheech Marin all fit their characters perfectly and Billy Joel is
the most surprising as the street-smart Dodger the Dog. If he
didn't already have a lucrative career as a pop singer and songwriter,
Joel could carve out a nice niche for himself doing voice work
as wiseguy New Yorkers. Comedian Dom
DeLuise, never known as the master of subtlety, creates a believable
and sympathetic Fagin, a poor street hood who wouldn't hurt a fly but
is in debt to a mobster and sees no way out except to kidnap the kitten
Oliver from his rich owners.

With a rousing finale
featuring a car chase on subway tracks, several snappy and well
choreographed production numbers, a beautifully stylized depiction of
life in New York City, and a solid cast of characters and voice talent,
OLIVER & COMPANY ranks as the best G-Rated Disney cartoon since
THE
FOX AND THE HOUND and arguably the best since 101 DALMATIANS.
- JB